.^^•v 



0^ .V-'. ^^ v" 





4 o 



•-0' ^^ 



,^ :m^. X.'f : 







What fearful shapes and shadows beset 
his path amidst the dim and ghastly 
glaive of a snowy flight ! " 




IN ew York & rLfOnJo-n. 
QPFutnaan's Sons 







-V a n 0^ I 



rsa 



• h. 



43144 

Copyright, iSgg 

FOR DESIGNS 
BY 

G.P.PUTNAM'S SONS 
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London 

TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 



Ube *nicfeeibocher pxeee, t\cw Ipork 



•ECUNH COPY, 






/ 




The photogravures in this volume are 
from designs by Frederick Simpson 
Coburn. The borders and cover are by 
Miss Margaret Armstrong. 





IFllustrattons 



What fearful shapes and shadows beset his 
path amidst the dim and ghastly glare of 
a snowy night / " . . . Frontispiece 



''Ichahod Crane's scholars certainly were not 
spoiled." 

"He found favor in the eyes of the mothers 
by petting the children" 

"And there con over old Mather's direful 
tales " . 

" Ichabod would carry on his suit with the 
daughter by the side of the spring under 
the great elm" 

"It was altogether such an apparition as is 
seldom to be met with in broad day- 



"How could the flogger of urchins be other- 
wise than animated and joyous ? " . 1 24 

"Away then they dashed, through thick and 
thin ; stones flying, and sparks flashing 
at every bound ^' ..... 166 




38 



82 










THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY 
HOLLOW 




FOUND AMONG THE PAPERS OF THE LATE 
DIEDRICH KNICKERBOCKER 

A pleasing land of drowsy head it was, 

Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye, 

And of gay castles in the clouds that pass, 
Forever flushing round a summer sky. 

Castle of Indolence, 

IN the bosom of one of those spacious 
coves which indent the eastern 
shore of the Hudson, at that broad 
expansion of the river denominated by 
the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan 
Zee, and where they always prudently 
shortened sail, and implored the protec- 
tion of St. Nicholas when they crossed. 



Zbc XeaenD of Sleepy Ibollow 



^ there lies a small market-town or rural 
port, which by some is called Greens- 
burgh, but which is more generally and 
properly known by the name of Tarry 
Town. This name was given, we are 
told, in former days, by the good house- 
wives of the adjacent country, from the 
inveterate propensity of their husbands 
to linger about the village tavern on 
market days. Be that as it may, 1 do 
not vouch for the fact, but merely advert 
to it for the sake of being precise and 
authentic. Not far from this village, 
perhaps about two miles, there is a little 
valley, or rather lap of land, among high 
hills, which is one of the quietest places 
in the whole world. A small brook 
glides through it, with just murmur 
enough to lull one to repose; and the 



M-; 



Jii - ':^X ti 





occasional whistle of a quail, or tapping 
of a woodpecker, is almost the only 
sound that ever breaks in upon the 
uniform tranquillity. 

1 recollect that, when a stripling, my 
first exploit in squirrel-shooting was in 
a grove of tall walnut trees that shades 
one side of the valley. I had wandered 
into it at noontime, when all nature is 
peculiarly quiet, and was startled by the 
roar of my own gun, as it broke the 
Sabbath stillness around, and was pro- 
longed and reverberated by the angry 
echoes. If ever I should wish for a re- 
treat, whither I might steal from the 
world and its distractions, and dream 
quietly away the remnant of a troubled 
life, I know of none more promising 
than this little valley. 




Zbc OLeaenD of Sleeps Ibollow 

From the listless repose of the place, 
and the peculiar character of its inhabi- 
tants, who are descendants from the 
original Dutch settlers, this sequestered 
glen has long been known by the name of 
Sleepy Hollow, and its rustic lads are 
called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout 
all the neighboring country. A drowsy, 
dreamy influence seems to hang over 
the land, and to pervade the very atmos- 
phere. Some say that the place was 
bewitched by a high German doctor, 
during the early days of the settlement; 
others, that an old Indian chief, the 
prophet or wizard of his tribe, held his 
pow-wows there before the country was 
discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson. 
Certain it is, the place still continues 
under the sway of some witching power, 







i 



%l 




that holds a spell over the minds of the 
good people, causing them to walk in 
a continual reverie. They are given to 
all kinds of marvellous beliefs; are sub- 
ject to trances and visions; and frequently 
see strange sights, and hear music and 
voices in the air. The whole neighbor- 
hood abounds with local tales, haunted 
spots, and twilight superstitions ; stars 
shoot and meteors glare oftener across 
the valley than in any other part of the 
country, and the nightmare, with her 
whole ninefold, seems to make it the 
favorite scene of her gambols. 

The dominant spirit, however, that 
haunts this enchanted region, and seems 
to be commander-in-chief of all the 
powers of the air, is the apparition of a 
figure on horseback without a head. It 



S"^^ 



XLbc %CQC\\^ of Sleeps IboUow 



is said by some to be the ghost of a 
Hessian trooper, whose head had been 
carried away by a cannon-ball, in some 
nameless battle during the Revolutionary 
War, and who is ever and anon seen by 
the country folk, hurrying along in the 
gloom of night, as if on the wings of the 
wind. His haunts are not confined to 
the valley, but extend at times to the 
adjacent roads, and especially to the 
vicinity of a church at no great distance. 
Indeed, certain of the most authentic 
historians of those parts, who have been 
careful in collecting and collating the 
floating facts concerning this spectre, 
allege that the body of the trooper, hav- 
ing been buried in the churchyard, the 
ghost rides forth to the scene of battle 
in nightly quest of his head; and that 





Zbc XegenO ot Sleepy Ibollow 

the rushing speed with which he some- 
times passes along the Hollow, like a 
midnight blast, is owing to his being 
belated, and in a hurry to get back to 
the churchyard before daybreak. 

Such is the general purport of this 
legendary superstition, which has fur- 
nished materials for many a wild story 
in that region of shadows; and the spec- 
tre is known, at all the country firesides, 
by the name of the Headless Horseman 
of Sleepy Hollow. 

It is remarkable that the visionary pro- 
pensity I have mentioned is not confined 
to the native inhabitants of the valley, 
but is unconsciously imbibed by every 
one who resides there for a time. How- 
ever wide awake they may have been 
before they entered that sleepy region, 



13 



^be XegenD ot Sleeps IboUow 



they are sure, in a little time, to inhale 
the witching influence of the air, and 
begin to grow imaginative, to dream 
dreams, and see apparitions. 

I mention this peaceful spot with all 
possible laud ; for it is in such little re- 
tired Dutch valleys, found here and there 
embosomed in the great State of New 
York, that population, manners, and 
customs remain fixed; while the great 
torrent of migration and improvement, 
which is making such incessant changes 
in other parts of this restless country, 
sweeps by them unobserved. They are 
like those little nooks of still water which 
border a rapid stream; where we may 
see the straw and bubble riding quietly 
at anchor, or slowly revolving in their 
mimic harbor, undisturbed by the rush 





^be %cgcn^ ot Sleepy Ibollow 




of the passing current. Though many 
years have elapsed since I trod the 
drowsy shades of Sleepy Hollow, yet I 
question whether I should not find the 
same trees and the same families vege- 
tating in its sheltered bosom. 

In this by-place of nature, there abode, 
in a remote period of American history, 
that is to say, some thirty years since, 
a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod 
Crane; who sojourned, or, as he ex- 
pressed it, ''tarried," in Sleepy Hollow, 
for the purpose of instructing the child- 
ren of the vicinity. He was a native of 
Connecticut, a State which supplies the 
Union with pioneers for the mind as 
well as for the forest, and sends forth 
yearly its legions of frontier woodsmen 
and country schoolmasters. The cogno- 




Zbc %CQcn^ ot Sleeps IboUow 

men of Crane was not inapplicable to 
his person. He was tall, but exceedingly 
lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms 
and legs, hands that dangled a mile out 
of his sleeves, feet that might have served 
for shovels, and his whole frame most 
loosely hung together. His head was 
small, and flat at top, with huge ears, 
large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe 
nose, so that it looked like a weather- 
cock perched upon his spindle neck, to 
tell which way the wind blew. To see 
him striding along the profile of a hill 
on a windy day, with his clothes bag- 
ging and fluttering about him, one might 
have mistaken him for the genius of 
famine descending upon the earth, or 
some scarecrow eloped from a cornfield. 
His schoolhouse was a low building 



19 



^be XegenD ot Sleeps Ibollow 



of one large room, rudely constructed of 
logs; the windows partly glazed, and 
partly patched with leaves of old copy- 
books. It was most ingeniously secured 
at vacant hours by a withe twisted in the 
handle of the door, and stakes set against 
the window-shutters; so that though a 
thief might get in with perfect ease, he 
would find some embarrassment in get- 
ting out : an idea most probably borrowed 
by the architect, Yost Van Houten, from 
the mystery of an eel-pot. The school- 
house stood in a rather lonely but pleasant 
situation, just at the foot of a woody 
hill, with a brook running close by, and 
a formidable birch tree growing at one 
end of it. From hence the low murmur 
of his pupils' voices, conning over their 
lessons, might be heard in a drowsy 




^ ^|.iiiri,iiiiiiiuimiiiiiiiiiimi' 




jsssismBmmm 



XLbc %CQcnt> ot Sleepy Ibollow 




summer's day, like the hum of a bee- 
^ hive; interrupted now and then by the 
authoritative voice of the master, in the 
tone of menace or command; or, perad- 
venture, by the appalling sound of the 
birch, as he urged some tardy loiterer 
along the flowery path of knowledge. 
Truth to say, he was a conscientious 
man, and ever bore in mind the golden 
maxim, ''Spare the rod and spoil the 
child." — Ichabod Crane's scholars cer- 
tainly were not spoiled. 

1 would not have it imagined, however, 
that he was one of those cruel potentates 
of the school, who joy in the smart of 
their subjects; on the contrary, he ad- 
ministered justice with discrimination 
rather than severity, taking the burden 
off the backs of the weak, and laying it 





on those of the strong. Your mere puny 
stripling, that winced at the least flourish 
of the rod, was passed by with indul- 
gence; but the claims of justice were 
satisfied by inflicting a double portion 
on some little, tough, wrong-headed, 
broad-skirted Dutch urchin who sulked 
and swelled and grew dogged and sullen 
beneath the birch. All this he called 
" doing his duty " by their parents; and 
he never inflicted a chastisement without 
following it by the assurance, so con- 
solatory to the smarting urchin, that 
" he would remember it, and thank him 
for it the longest day he had to live." 

When school hours were over, he was 
even the companion and playmate of 
the larger boys; and on holiday after- 
noons would convoy some of the smaller 

25 





ones home, who happened to have pretty 
sisters, or good housewives for mothers, 
noted for the comforts of the cupboard. 
Indeed it behooved him to keep on good 
terms with his pupils. The revenue 
arising from his school was small, and 
would have been scarcely sufficient to 
furnish him with daily bread, for he was 
a huge feeder, and, though lank, had the 
dilating powers of an anaconda; but to 
help out his maintenance, he was, ac- 
cording to country custom in those parts, 
boarded and lodged at the houses of the 
farmers, whose children he instructed. 
With these he lived successively a week 
at a time; thus going the rounds of the 
neighborhood, with all his worldly ef- 
fects tied up in a cotton handkerchief. 
That all this might not be too onerous 





^be XegenD ot Sleeps Ibollow 

on the purses of his rustic patrons, who 
are apt to consider the costs of schooling 
a grievous burden, and schoolmasters as 
mere drones, he had various ways of 
rendering himself both useful and agree- 
able. He assisted the farmers occasion- 
ally in the lighter labors of their farms; 
helped to make hay, mended the fences; 
took the horses to water; drove the cows 
from pasture; and cut wood for the 
winter fire. He laid aside, too, all the 
dominant dignity and absolute sway 
with which he lorded it in his little em- 
pire, the school, and became wonderfully 
gentle and ingratiating. He found favor 
in the eyes of the mothers by petting 
the children, particularly the youngest; 
and like the lion bold, which whilom so 
magnanimously the lamb did hold, he 



29 



-^^/' 










Zbc TLcQcnt) of SIeepi2 Ibollow 



would sit with a cliild on one knee, and 
rock a cradle with his foot for whole 
hours together. 

In addition to his other vocations, he 
was the singing-master of the neighbor- 
hood, and picked up many bright shil- 
lings by instructing the young folks in 
psalmody. It was a matter of no little 
vanity to him, on Sundays, to take his 
station in front of the church gallery, 
with a band of chosen singers; where, 
in his own mind, he completely carried 
away the palm from the parson. Certain 
it is, his voice resounded far above all 
the rest of the congregation ; and there 
are peculiar quavers still to be heard in 
that church, and which may even be 
heard half a mile off, quite to the oppo- 
site side of the mill-pond, on a still 





^bc Xe^enD ot Sleepy Ibollow 



Sunday morning, which are said to be 
legitimately descended from the nose of 
Ichabod Crane. Thus, by divers little 
makeshifts in that ingenious way which 
is commonly denominated ''by hook 
and by crook," the worthy pedagogue 
got on tolerably enough, and was 
thought, by all who understood nothing 
of the labor of headwork, to have a 
wonderfully easy life of it. 

The schoolmaster is generally a man 
of some importance in the female circle 
of a rural neighborhood ; being con- 
sidered a kind of idle, gentleman-like 
personage, of vastly superior taste and 
accomplishments to the rough country 
swains, and, indeed, inferior in learning 
only to the parson. His appearance, 
therefore, is apt to occasion some little 





stir at the tea-table of a farmhouse, and 
the addition of a supernumerary dish 
of cakes or sweetmeats, or, peradventure, 
the parade of a silver teapot. Our man 
of letters, therefore, was peculiarly happy 
in the smiles of all the country damsels. 
How he would figure among them in 
the churchyard, between services on 
Sundays ! gathering grapes for them 
from the wild vines that overrun the 
surrounding trees ; reciting for their 
amusement all the epitaphs on the tomb- 
stones; or sauntering, with a whole bevy 
of them, along the banks of the adjacent 
mill-pond; while the more bashful coun- 
try bumpkins hung sheepishly back, en- 
vying his superior elegance and address. 
From his half-itinerant life, also, he 
was a kind of travelling gazette, carrying 



35 



IQ^ 



iiiN^HiigiiiiiM 



XLbc %CQC\\^ of Sleeps IboUow 



the whole budget of local gossip from 
house to house: so that his appearance 
was always greeted with satisfaction. 
He was, moreover, esteemed by the wo- 
men as a man of great erudition, for he 
had read several books quite through, 
and was a perfect master of Cotton 
Mather's History of New England Witch- 
craft, in which, by the way, he most 
firmly and potently believed. 

He was, in fact, an odd mixture of 
small shrewdness and simple credulity. 
His appetite for the marvellous, and his 
powers of digesting it, were equally ex- 
traordinary; and both had been increased 
by his residence in this spellbound re- 
gion. No tale was too gross or mon- 
strous for his capacious swallow. It 
was often his delight, after his school 





j 

And there con over old Mather s dire- \ 

f id tales." j 



XLbc XcgenD of Sleepy Ibollow 

was dismissed in the afternoon, to stretch 
himself on the rich bed of clover border- 
ing the little brook that whimpered by 
his schoolhouse, and there con over 
old Mather's direful tales, until the 
gathering dusk of the evening made the 
printed page a mere mist before his eyes. 
Then, as he wended his way, by swamp 
and stream, and awful woodland, to the 
farmhouse where he happened to be 
quartered, every sound of nature, at 
that witching hour, fluttered his excited 
imagination; the moan of the whippoor- 
wilP from the hillside; the boding cry 
of the tree-toad, that harbinger of storm; 
the dreary hooting of the screech-owl, 



' The whippoor-will is a bird whicii is only heard 
at night. It receives its name from its note, which 
is thought to resemble those words. 

39 



^be %CQcnt> of Sleepy Ibollow 

or the sudden rustling in the thicket of 
birds frightened from their roost. The 
fireflies, too, which sparkled most viv- 
idly in the darkest places, now and 
then startled him, as one of uncommon 
brightness would stream across his path; 
and if, by chance, a huge blockhead of 
a beetle came winging his blundering 
flight against him, the poor varlet was 
ready to give up the ghost, with the 
idea that he was struck with a witch's 
token. His only resource on such occa- 
sions, either to drown thought or drive 
away evil spirits, was to sing psalm 
tunes; and the good people of Sleepy 
Hollow, as they sat by their door of an 
evening, were often filled with awe, at 
hearing his nasal melody, *'in linked 
sweetness long drawn out," floating from 



41 



Zlic Xe^enD ot Sleeps IboUow 

the distant hill, or along the dusky 
road. 

Another of his sources of fearful plea- 
sure was, to pass long winter evenings 
with the old Dutch wives, as they sat 
spinning by the fire, with a row of 
apples roasting and spluttering along the 
hearth and listen to their marvellous tales 
of ghosts and goblins, and haunted fields, 
and haunted brooks, and haunted bridges, 
and haunted houses, and particularly 
of the headless horseman, or Galloping 
Hessian of the Hollow, as they some- 
times called him. He would delight 
them equally by his anecdotes of witch- 
craft, and of the direful omens and por- 
tentous sights and sounds in the air, 
which prevailed in the earlier times of 
Connecticut; and would frighten them 



43 



Siiuiniiiiii\ii\iiintiiiiii|iiw£\iiltiijif'"ii'>iiii'iiii i«ii|iiii,,|iiiiiiiiiuiiiiii(iuiiiiKi' 



'^S^'^d 






^^M^i 




Xlbc %CQcnO of Sleeps Ibollow 

wofully with speculations upon comets 
and shooting stars, and with the alarm- 
ing fact that the world did absolutely 
turn round and that they were half the 
time topsy-turvy ! 

But if there was a pleasure in all this, 
while snugly cuddling in the chimney- 
corner of a chamber that was all of a 
ruddy glow from the crackling wood- 
fire, and where, of course, no spectre 
dared to show his face, it was dearly 
purchased by the terrors of his subse- 
quent walk homewards. What fearful 
shapes and shadows beset his path 
amidst the dim and ghastly glare of a 
snowy night ! With what wistful look 
did he eye every trembling ray of light 
streaming across the waste fields from 
some distant window ! How often was 



45 



^be Ue^enD ot Sleeps Ibollow 

he appalled by some shrub covered with 
snow, which, litce a sheeted spectre, 
beset his very path ! How often did he 
shrink with curdling awe at the sound 
of his own steps on the frosty crust be- 
neath his feet; and dread to look over 
his shoulder, lest he should behold some 
uncouth being tramping close behind 
him ! — and how often was he thrown 
into complete dismay by some rushing 
blast, howling among the trees, in the 
idea that it was the Galloping Hessian 
on one of his nightly scourings! 

All these, however, were mere terrors 
of the night, phantoms of the mind that 
walk in darkness; and though he had 
seen many spectres in his time, and 
been more than once beset by Satan in 
divers shapes, in his lonely perambula- 



■^^^ ^mm^amnnmmmm 






^be XegenO of Sleeps Ibollow 

tions, yet daylight put an end to all 
these evils; and he would have passed a 
pleasant life of it, in despite of the devil 
and all his works, if his path had not 
been crossed by a being that causes more 
perplexity to mortal man than ghosts, 
goblins, and the whole race of witches 
put together, and that was — a woman. 

Among the musical disciples who as- 
sembled, one evening in each week, to 
receive his instructions in psalmody was 
Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and 
only child of a substantial Dutch farmer. 
She was a blooming lass of fresh eight- 
een; plump as a partridge ; ripe and 
melting and rosy-cheeked as one of her 
father's peaches, and universally famed, 
not merely for her beauty, but her vast 
expectations. She was, withal, a little of 



49 




iMiiii|HUiii|liiiniiHl>iVi^>'n'li>'<''>i>iiili>iiih<Mii'<ii|iMM|iiiiiiiiiiulii|i<liuiiuiU^'*'i| 



mr 



Lf) 



Xlbc Xeaeiid of Sleepy Ibollow 

a coquette as might be perceived even 
in her dress, which was a mixture of 
ancient and modern fashions, as most 
suited to set off her charms. She wore 
the ornaments of pure yellow gold, 
which her great-great-grandmother had 
brought over from Saardam; the tempt- 
ing stomacher of the olden time; and 
withal a provokingly short petticoat, to 
display the prettiest foot and ankle in 
the country round. 

Ichabod Crane had a soft and foolish 
heart towards the sex; and it is not to 
be wondered at that so tempting a mor- 
sel soon found favor in his eyes; more 
especially after he had visited her in her 
paternal mansion. Old Baltus Van Tas- 
sel was a perfect picture of a thriving 
contented, liberal-hearted farmer. He 

51 



US^ 



XLbc XegenD of Sleepy Ibollow 



seldom, it is true, sent either his eyes or 
his thoughts beyond the boundaries of 
his own farm ; but within those every- 
thing was snug, happy, and well-condi- 
tioned. He was satisfied with his wealth, 
but not proud of it; and piqued himself 
upon the hearty abundance rather than 
the style in which he lived. His strong- 
hold was situated on the banks of the 
Hudson, in one of those green, sheltered, 
fertile nooks in which the Dutch farmers 
are so fond of nestling. A great elm- 
tree spread its broad branches over it; 
at the foot of which bubbled up a spring 
of the softest and sweetest water, in a 
little well, formed of a barrel; and then 
stole sparkling away through the grass, 
to a neighboring brook that bubbled 
along among alders and dwarf willows. 






Ebe XecienD of Sleepy Ibollow 

Hard by the farmhouse was a vast barn 
that might have served for a church, 
every window and crevice of which 
seemed bursting forth with the treasures 
of the farm ; the flail was busily resound- 
ing within it from morning till night; 
swallows and martins skimmed twit- 
tering about the eaves; and rows of 
pigeons, some with one eye turned up, 
as if watching the weather, some with 
their heads under their wings, or buried 
in their bosoms, and others swelling, and 
cooing, and bowing about their dames, 
were enjoying the sunshine on the roof. 
Sleek, unwieldly porkers were grunting 
in the repose and abundance of their 
pens; whence sallied forth, now and 
then, troops of sucking-pigs, as if to 
snuff the air. A stately squadron of 



55 



tibe XeaenO ot Sleepy Ibollow 

snowy geese were riding in an adjoining 
pond, convoying whole fleets of ducks; 
regiments of turkeys were gobbling 
through the farmyard, and guinea fowls 
fretting about it, like ill-tempered house- 
wives, with their peevish discontented 
cry. Before the barn-door strutted the 
gallant cock, that pattern of a husband, 
a warrior, and a fine gentleman, clapping 
his burnished wings, and crowing in the 
pride and gladness of his heart — some- 
times tearing up the earth with his feet, 
and then generously calling his ever- 
hungry family of wives and children to 
enjoy the rich morsel which he had 
discovered. 

The pedagogue's mouth watered, as 
he looked upon this sumptuous promise 
of luxurious winter fare. In his devour- 



57 



XLbc Xe^enD ot Sleeps IboUow 

ing mind's eye he pictured to himself 
every roasting-pig running about with 
a pudding in his belly, and an apple in 
his mouth; the pigeons were snugly put 
to bed in a comfortable pie, and tucked 
in with a coverlet of crust; the geese 
were swimming in their own gravy; and 
the ducks pairing cosily in dishes, like 
snug married couples, with a decent 
competency of onion sauce. In the 
porkers he saw carved out the future 
sleek side of bacon, and juicy, relishing 
ham; not a turkey but he beheld daintily 
trussed up, with its gizzard under its 
wing, and, peradventure, a necklace of 
savory sausages ; and even bright chan- 
ticleer himself lay sprawling on his back, 
in a side-dish, with uplifted claws, as 
if craving that quarter which his chiv- 



59 



f^s ' " - k. 



ir 







XLbc %CQcnt> of Sleepy Ibollow 

alrous spirit disdained to ask while 
living. 

As the enraptured Ichabod fancied all 
this, and as he rolled his great green 
eyes over the fat meadow-lands, the rich 
fields of wheat, of rye, of buckwheat, and 
Indian corn, and the orchard, burdened 
with ruddy fruit, which surrounded the 
warm tenement of Van Tassel, his heart 
yearned after the damsel who was to 
inherit these domains, and his imagina- 
tion expanded with the idea how they 
might be readily turned into cash, and 
the money invested in immense tracts 
of wild land, and shingle palaces in the 
wilderness. Nay, his busy fancy already 
realized his hopes, and presented to him 
the blooming Katrina, with a whole 
family of children, mounted on the top 

6i 




^^H^oMP 






Zbc XegenD of Sleepy Ibollow 

of a wagon loaded with household 
trumpery, with pots and kettles dang- 
ling beneath; and he beheld himself be- 
striding a pacing mare, with a colt at 
her heels, setting out for Kentucky, 
Tennessee, or the Lord knows where. 

When he entered the house, the con- 
quest of his heart was complete. It 
was one of those spacious farmhouses, 
with high-ridged, but lowly sloping roofs 
built in the style handed down from the 
first Dutch settlers ; the low projecting 
eaves forming a piazza along the front, ca- 
pable of being closed up in bad weather. 
Under this were hung flails, harness, 
various utensils of husbandry, and nets 
for fishing in the neighboring river. 
Benches were built along the sides for 
summer use ; and a great spinning-wheel 

63 



e^jpy ^i 







/^ 




^be Xc^enD of Sleepi^ IboHow 



at one end, and a churn at the other, 
showed the various uses to which this 
important porch might be devoted. 
From this piazza the wondering Ichabod 
entered the hall, which formed the cen- 
tre of the mansion and the place of usual 
residence. Here, rows of resplendent 
pewter, ranged on a long dresser, daz- 
zled his eyes. In one corner stood a 
huge bag of wool ready to be spun; in 
another a quantity of linsey-woolsey 
just from the loom; ears of Indian corn 
and strings of dried apples and peaches 
hung in gay festoons along the walls, 
mingled with the gaud of red peppers; 
and a door left ajar gave him a peep 
into the best parlor, where the claw- 
footed chairs and dark mahogany tables 
shone like mirrors; andirons, with their 




trbe XeaenD of Sleepi? Ibollow 

accompanying shovel and tongs, glis- 
tened from their covert of asparagus 
tops; mock oranges and conch shells 
decorated the mantelpiece ; strings of 
various colored birds' eggs were sus- 
pended above it, a great ostrich egg was 
hung from the centre of the room, and 
a corner cupboard, knowingly left open, 
displayed immense treasures of old silver 
and well-mended china. 

From the moment Ichabod laid his 
eyes upon these regions of delight, the 
peace of his mind was at an end, and 
his only study was how to gain the 
affections of the peerless daughter of 
Van Tassell. In this enterprise, how- 
ever, he had more real difficulties than 
generally fell to the lot of a knight- 
errant of yore, who seldom had anything 

67 



© 



XLbc XegenD ot 5leepi2 Ibollow 

but giants, enchanters, fiery dragons, 
and such like easily conquered adversa- 
ries, to contend with; and had to make 
his way merely through gates of iron 
and brass, and walls of adamant, to the 
castle-keep, where the lady of his heart 
was confined; all which he achieved as 
easily as a man would carve his way to 
the centre of a Christmas pie; and then 
the lady gave him her hand as a matter 
of course. Ichabod, on the contrary, 
had to win his way to the heart of a 
country coquette, beset with a labyrinth 
of whims and caprices, which were for- 
ever presenting new difficulties and im- 
pediments; and he had to encounter a 
host of fearful adversaries of real flesh 
and blood, the numerous rustic admirers, 
who beset every portal to her heart ; 

69 



^ 




^^^^^ 



tTbe XegenD ot Sleepg IboUow 

keeping a watchful and angry eye upon 
each other, but ready to fly out in the 
common cause against any new com- 
petitor. 

Among these the most formidable was 
a burly, roaring, roistering blade, of the 
name of Abraham, or, according to the 
Dutch abbreviation, Brom, Van Brunt, 
the hero of the country round, which 
rang with his feats of strength and 
hardihood. He was broad-shouldered, 
and double- jointed, with short curly 
black hair, and a bluff but not unpleasant 
countenance, having a mingled air of 
fun and arrogance. From his Herculean 
frame and great powers of limb, he had 
received the nickname of Brom Bones, 
by which he was universally known. 
He was famed for great knowledge and 



71 



^be %CQc\\d or Sleepy Ibollow 

skill in horsemanship, being as dexter- 
ous on horseback as a Tartar. He was 
foremost at all races and cock-fights ; 
and, with the ascendancy which bodily 
strength acquires in rustic life, was the 
umpire in all disputes, setting his hat 
on one side, and giving his decisions 
with an air and tone admitting of no 
gainsay or appeal. He was always 
ready either for a fight or a frolic ; but 
had more mischief than ill-will in his 
composition ; and, with all his overbear- 
ing roughness, there was a strong dash 
of waggish good-humour at bottom. 
He had three or four boon companions, 
who regarded him as their model, and 
at the head of whom he scoured the 
country, attending every scene of feud 
or merriment for miles round. In cold 

73 



jQ- 



^be Xegen^ ot Sleeps Ibollow 

weather he was distinguished by a fur 
cap, surmounted with a flaunting fox's 
tail; and when the folks at a country 
gathering descried this well-known crest 
at a distance, whisking about among a 
squad of hard riders, they always stood 
by for a squall. Sometimes his crew 
would be heard dashing along past the 
farmhouses at midnight, with whoop 
and halloo, like a troop of Don Cossacks; 
and the old dames, startled out of their 
sleep, would listen for a moment till the 
hurry-scurry had clattered by, and then 
exclaim, *'Ay, there goes Brom Bones 
and his gang ! ' The neighbors looked 
upon him with a mixture of awe, ad- 
miration, and good-will, and when any 
madcap prank, or rustic brawl, occurred 
in the vicinity, always shook their heads. 



^=4= 



75 



fnini'iiiiiiiiiiiii|iiniii'i|'.i^ 



li|iUlllllllWii||(i,i'iliUll| 



zijtt^D^ns Q^tcn^ ^ 



t*li^ 



rtX^O. 





^be XegenD of Sleepy Ibollow 

and warranted Brom Bones was at the 
bottom of it. 

This rantipole hero had for some time 
singled out the blooming Katrina for the 
object of his uncouth gallantries; and 
though his amorous toyings were some- 
thing like the gentle caresses and endear- 
ments of a bear, yet it was whispered 
that she did not altogether discourage 
his hopes. Certain it is, his advances 
were signals for rival candidates to re- 
tire, who felt no inclination to cross a 
lion in his amours; insomuch, that, when 
his horse was seen tied to Van Tassel's 
paling on a Sunday night, a sure sign 
that his master was courting, or, as it 
is termed "sparking," within, all other 
suitors passed by in despair, and carried 
the war into other quarters. 

77 



V 




^fce XegeiiD of Sleeps IboUow 



Such was the formidable rival with 
whom Ichabod Crane had to contend, 
and, considering all things, a stouter 
man than he would have shrunk from 
the competition, and a wiser man would 
have despaired. He had, however, a 
happy mixture of pliability and perse- 
verance in his nature; he was in form 
and spirit like a supple-jack — yielding, 
but tough ; though he bent, he never 
broke; and though he bowed beneath 
the slightest pressure, yet, the moment 
it was away — jerk ! he was as erect and 
carried his head as high as ever. 

To have taken the field openly against 
his rival would have been madness; for 
he was not a man to be thwarted in his 
amours, any more than that stormy 
lover, Achilles. Ichabod, therefore, made 




79 



.<j tMfiiiiii'V"i/iiy'"i|iiiiirifi,.i!iii 




■■- r^^:-'w'--.rS 







Zbe %CQcnt> of Sleeps Ibollow 

his advances in a quiet and gently in- 
sinuating manner. Under cover of his 
character of singing-master, he had made 
frequent visits at the farmhouse; not 
that he had anything to apprehend from 
the meddlesome interference of parents, 
which is so often a stumbling-block in 
the path of lovers. Bait Van Tassel was 
an easy, indulgent soul ; he loved his 
daughter better even than his pipe, and, 
like a reasonable man and an excellent 
father, let her have her way in every- 
thing. His notable little wife, too, had 
enough to do to attend to her house- 
keeping and manage her poultry ; for, 
as she sagely observed, ducks and geese 
are foolish things, and must be looked 
after, but girls can take care of them- 
selves. Thus while the busy dame bustled 



^ 









f 



N^ >., 



.':-.Al^-'t:>^ ^ 



'^..xi*t^ ^ 



^m 




'' Ichabod would carry on his sttit with 
the daughter by the side of the spring 
under the great elm!' 



JPI 


^Ij 




";* 








m 


H ■ 

i 


m 







XLbc HegenD ot Siccp^ IboUow 

about the house, or plied her spinning- 
wheel at one end of the piazza, honest 
Bait would sit smoking his evening pipe 
at the other, watching the achievements 
of a little wooden warrior, who, armed 
with a sword in each hand, was most 
valiantly fighting the wind on the pin-, 
nacle of the barn. In the meantime, 
Ichabod would carry on his suit with the 
daughter by the side of the spring under 
the great elm, or sauntering along in the 
twilight, — that hour so favorable to the 
lover's eloquence. 

I profess not to know how women's 
hearts are wooed and won. To me they 
have always been matters of riddle and 
admiration. Some seem to have but one 
vulnerable point, or door of access, while 
others have a thousand avenues, and 

83 



0'-^^ 



y/^^^ 




may be captured in a thousand different 
ways. It is a great triumph of skill to 
gain the former, but a still greater proof 
of generalship to maintain possession of 
the latter, for the man must battle for 
his fortress at every door and window. 
He who wins a thousand common hearts 
is therefore entitled to some renown; 
but he who keeps undisputed sway over 
the heart of a coquette, is indeed a hero. 
Certain it is, this was not the case with 
the redoubtable Brom Bones; and from 
the moment Ichabod Crane made his 
advances, the interests of the former 
evidently declined; his horse was no 
longer seen tied at the palings on Sunday 
nights, and a deadly feud gradually arose 
between him and the preceptor of Sleepy 
Hollow. 



85 



e^jQy ^< 



A^ 




i/.-.''«i,-V;'h.'' 









XLbc %cgcnt> ot Sleeps Ibollow 

Brom, who had a degree of rough 
chivalry in his nature, would fain have 
carried matters to open warfare, and 
have settled their pretensions to the lady 
according to the mode of those most 
concise and simple reasoners, the knights- 
errant of yore — by single combat; but 
Ichabod was too conscious of the su- 
perior might of his adversary to enter 
the lists against him : he had overheard 
a boast of Bones, that he would *' double 
the schoolmaster up, and lay him on a 
shelf of his own schoolhouse " ; and he 
was too wary to give him an oppor- 
tunity. There was something extremely 
provoking in this obstinately pacific sys- 
tem ; it left Brom no alternative but to 
draw upon the funds of rustic waggery 
in his disposition, and to play off boorish 

87 



m 



Cbe XegenD of Sleepg IboUow 

practical jokes upon his rival. Ichabod be- 
came the object of whimsical persecution 
to Bones and his gang of rough riders. 
They harried his hitherto peaceful do- 
mains; smoked out his singing-school, 
by stopping up the chimney; broke into 
the schoolhouse at night, in spite of 
its formidable fastenings of withe and 
window-stakes, and turned everything 
topsy-turvy : so that the poor school- 
master began to think all the witches in 
the country held their meetings there. 
But what was still more annoying, Brom 
took opportunities of turning him into 
ridicule in presence of his mistress, and 
had a scoundrel dog whom he taught 
to whine in the most ludicrous manner, 
and introduced as a rival of Ichabod's to 
instruct her in psalmody. 



i©^"^ 



Zbc Xe^enD of Slccpg Ibollow 

In this way matters went on for some 
time, without producing any material 
effect on the relative situation of the 
contending powers. On a fine autumnal 
afternoon, Ichabod, in pensive mood, 
sat enthroned on a lofty stool whence 
he usually watched all the concerns of 
his little literary realfn. In his hand he 
swayed a ferule, that sceptre of despotic 
power ; the birch of justice reposed on 
three nails, behind the throne, a constant 
terror to evil-doers; while on the desk 
before him might be seen sundry con- 
traband articles and prohibited weapons, 
detected upon the persons of idle urchins; 
such as half-munched apples, pop-guns, 
whirligigs, fly-cages, and whole legions 
of rampant little paper game-cocks. 
Apparently there had been some appall- 

91 



|l||l||Ui>l||iiillM|l"iMi'<<i|iii„||i\||llllluMl|ll|«llua|K 



innniiiiiiiiiniifiiiP'iiiiriiiijm 





^be XcgenD ot Sleepy Ibollow 



ing act of justice recently inflicted, for 
his scholars were all busily intent upon 
their books, or slyly whispering behind 
them with one eye kept upon the mas- 
ter ; and a kind of buzzing stillness 
reigned throughout the schoolroom. It 
was suddenly interrupted by the appear- 
ance of a negro, in tow-cloth jacket and 
trousers, a round-crowned fragment of 
a hat, like the cap of Mercury, and 
mounted on the back of a ragged, wild, 
half-broken colt, which he managed 
with a rope by way of halter. He came 
clattering up to the schooldoor with an 
invitation to Ichabod to attend a merry- 
making or ''quilting frolic," to be held 
that evening at Mynheer Van Tassel's ; 
and having delivered his message with 
that air of importance, and effort at fine 



V 



93 



Zbc XegenD of Sleeps Ibollow 



language, which a negro is apt to display 
on petty embassies of the kind, he dashed 
over the brook, and was seen scamper- 
ing away up the Hollow, full of the im- 
portance and hurry of his mission. 

All was now bustle and hubbub in the 
late quiet schoolroom. The scholars 
were hurried through their lessons, with- 
out stopping at trifles ; those who were 
nimble skipped over half with impunity, 
and those who were tardy had a smart 
application now and then in the rear, to 
quicken their speed, or help them over 
a tall word. Books were flung aside 
without being put away on the shelves, 
inkstands were overturned, benches 
thrown down, and the whole school 
was turned loose an hour before the 
usual time, bursting forth like a legion 





^1 



Zbc XegenD ot Sleepy IboUow 



of young imps, yelping and racketing 
about the green, in joy at their early 
emancipation. 

The gallant Ichabod now spent at least 
an extra half-hour at his toilet, brushing 
and furbishing up his best, and indeed 
only, suit of rusty black, and arranging 
his looks by a bit of broken looking-glass, 
that hung up in the schoolhouse. That 
he might make his appearance before his 
mistress in the true style of a cavalier, 
he borrowed a horse from the farmer 
with whom he was domiciliated, a cho- 
leric old Dutchman, of the name of Hans 
Van Ripper, and, thus gallantly mounted, 
issued forth, like a knight-errant in quest 
of adventures. But it is meet I should, 
in the true spirit of romantic story, give 
some account of the looks and equip- 




Ebe XegenD of Sleepy Ibollow 

ments of my hero and his steed. The 
animal he bestrode was a broken-down 
plough horse, that had outlived almost 
everything but his viciousness. He was 
gaunt and shagged, with a ewe neck and 
a head like a hammer; his rusty mane 
and tail were tangled and knotted with 
burrs; one eye had lost its pupil, and 
was glaring and spectral; but the other 
had the gleam of a genuine devil in it. 
Still he must have had fire and mettle in 
his day, if we may judge from the name 
he bore of Gunpowder. He had, in fact, 
been a favorite steed of his master's, the 
choleric Van Ripper, who was a furious 
rider, and had infused, very probably, 
some of his own spirit into the animal; 
for, old and broken-down as he looked, 
there was more of the lurking devil in 



99 



[mm 



Zbc XcgenD ot Sleepy IboUovv 



him than in any young filly in the 
country. 

Ichabod was a suitable figure for such 
a steed. He rode with short stirrups, 
which brought his knees nearly up to 
the pommel of the saddle; his sharp 
elbows stuck out like grasshoppers' ; he 
carried his whip perpendicularly in his 
hand, like a sceptre, and, as his horse 
jogged on, the motion of his arms was 
not unlike the flapping of a pair of wings. 
A small wool hat rested on the top of 
his nose, for so his scanty strip of fore- 
head might be called; and the skirts of 
his black coat fluttered out almost to 
the horse's tail. Such was the appear- 
ance of Ichabod and his steed, as they 
shambled out of the gate of Hans Van 
Ripper, and it was altogether such an 





AW 



It was altogether such an apparition ] 

as is seldom to be 7net with in broad \ 

daylight!' \ 




Zbc Xe^enO ot Sleepy Ibollow 



apparition as is seldom to be met with 
in broad daylight. 

It was, as I have said, a fine autumnal 
day; the sky was clear and serene, and 
nature wore that rich and golden livery 
which we always associate with the idea 
of abundance. The forests had put on 
their sober brown and yellow, while 
some trees of the tenderer kind had been 
nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes 
of orange, purple, and scarlet. Stream- 
ing files of wild ducks began to make 
their appearance high in the air; the bark 
of the squirrel might be heard from the 
groves of beech and hickory nuts, and 
the pensive whistle of the quail at inter- 
vals from the neighboring stubble-field. 

The small birds were taking their fare- 
well banquets. In the fulness of their 



103 




4. 




Ilbe ILcQcn^ ot Sleepy IboUow 

revelry, they fluttered, chirping and 
frolicking, from bush to bush, and tree 
to tree, capricious from the very profu- 
sion and variety around them. There 
was the honest cockrobin, the favorite 
game of stripling sportsmen, with its 
loud querulous notes; and the twittering 
blackbirds flying in sable clouds; and the 
golden-winged woodpecker, with his 
crimson crest, his broad black gorget, 
and splendid plumage; and the cedar- 
bird, with its red-tipped wings and yel- 
low-tipped tail, and its little monteiro cap 
of feathers; and the blue jay, that noisy 
coxcomb, in his gay light blue coat and 
white underclothes, screaming and chat- 
tering, nodding and bobbing and bowing, 
and pretending to be on good terms 
with every songster of the grove. 

105 



C 



0^^ 






XLbc %cQa\t> ot Sleeps Ibollow 

As Ichabod jogged slowly on his way, 
his eye, ever open to every symptom of 
culinary abundance, ranged with delight 
over the treasures of jolly autumn. On 
all sides he beheld vast store of apples; 
some hanging in oppressive opulence on 
the trees; some gathered into baskets 
and barrels for the market; others heaped 
up in rich piles for the cider-press. 
Farther on he beheld great fields of 
Indian corn, with its golden ears peep- 
ing from their leafy coverts, and holding 
out the promise of cakes and hasty- 
pudding; and the yellow pumpkins ly- 
ing beneath them, turning up their fair 
round bellies to the sun, and giving ample 
prospects of the most luxurious of pies; 
and anon he passed the fragrant buck- 
wheat fields, breathing the odor of the 



107 





^be Xe^enD ot Sleeps tboUovv 

bee-hive, and as he beheld them, soft an- 
ticipations stole over his mind of dainty 
slap-jacks, well buttered, and garnished 
with honey or treacle, by the delicate little 
dimpled hands of Katrina Van Tassel. 

Thus feeding his mind with many 
sweet thoughts and "sugared supposi- 
tions," he journeyed along the sides of a 
range of hills which look out upon some 
of the goodliest scenes of the mighty 
Hudson. The sun gradually wheeled 
his broad disk down into the west. The 
wide bosom of the Tappan Zee lay mo- 
tionless and glossy, excepting that here 
and there a gentle undulation waved and 
prolonged the blue shadow of the distant 
mountain. A few amber clouds floated 
in the sky, without a breath of air to 
move them. The horizon was of a fine 



[09 




golden tint, changing gradually into a 
pure apple-green, and from that into the 
deep blue of the mid-heaven. A slant- 
ing ray lingered on the woody crests of 
the precipices that overhung some parts 
of the river, giving greater depth to the 
dark gray and purple of their rocky sides. 
A sloop was loitering in the distance, 
dropping slowly down with the tide, 
her sail hanging uselessly against the 
mast; and as the reflection of the sky 
gleamed along the still water, it seemed 
as if the vessel was suspended in the air. 
It was toward evening that Ichabod 
arrived at the castle of the Heer Van 
Tassel, which he found thronged with 
the pride and the flower of the adjacent 
country. Old farmers, a spare, leathern- 
faced race, in homespun coats and 





^be 3LegenD ot SUepg IboUow 

breeches, blue stockings, huge shoes, 
and magnificent pewter buckles. Their 
brisk, withered little dames, in close- 
crimped caps, long-waisted shortgowns, 
homespun petticoats, with scissors and 
pincushions, and gay calico pockets 
hanging on the outside. Buxom lasses, 
almost as antiquated as their mothers, 
excepting where a straw hat, a fine 
ribban, or perhaps a white frock, gave 
symptoms of city innovation. The sons, 
in short, square-skirted coats with rows 
of stupendous brass buttons, and their 
hair generally queued in the fashion of 
the times, especially if they could pro- 
cure an eel-skin for the purpose, it be- 
ing esteemed, throughout the country, 
as a potent nourisher and strengthener 
of the hair. 



113 



|^\iVM\\inl''i\tiw\wi^|||gpTn^iiiiiMiiiniii/ii'niiiiiiuiM 



l|IMl!l|l/llii|H||IIW|l)3)l|\l||ll<l>IMillll>lHn>i n|iiii||iil 






XLbc XegenD of Sleepg Ibollow 

Brom Bones, however, was the hero 
of the scene, having come to the gather- 
ing on his favorite steed, Daredevil, a 
creature, like himself, full of mettle and 
mischief, and which no one but himself 
could manage. He was, in fact, noted 
for preferring vicious animals, given to 
all kinds of tricks, which kept the rider 
in constant risk of his neck, for he held 
a tractable, well-broken horse as un- 
worthy of a lad of spirit. 

Fain would I pause to dwell upon the 
world of charms that burst upon the en- 
raptured gaze of my hero, as he entered 
the state parlor of Van Tassel's mansion. 
Not those of the bevy of buxom lasses, 
with their luxurious display of red and 
white; but the ample charms of a gen- 
uine Dutch country tea-table, in the 



115 



Cbe XcaenD of Slecpi^ Ibollow 



sumptuous time of autumn. Such 
heaped-up platters of cakes of various 
and almost indescribable kinds, known 
only to experienced Dutch housewives ! 
There was the doughty doughnut, the 
tenderer oly koek, and the crisp and 
crumbling cruller; sweet cakes and short 
cakes, ginger-cakes and honey-cakes, 
and the whole family of cakes. And 
then there were apple-pies and peach- 
pies and pumpkin-pies; besides slices 
of ham and smoked beef; and moreover 
delectable dishes of preserved plums, 
and peaches, and pears, and quinces; 
not to mention broiled shad and roasted 
chickens; together with bowls of milk 
and cream, all mingled higgledy-pig- 
gledy, pretty much as I have enumerated 
them, with the motherly teapot sending 





XLbc %CQc\\t> ot Sleeps Ibollow 



up its clouds of vapor from the midst — 
Heaven bless the mark! 1 want breath 
and time to discuss this banquet as it 
deserves, and am too eager to get on 
with my story. Happily, Ichabod Crane 
was not in so great a hurry as his his- 
torian, but did ample justice to every 
dainty. 

He was a kind and thankful creature, 
whose heart dilated in proportion as his 
skin was filled with good cheer; and 
whose spirits rose with eating as some 
men's do with drink. He could not 
help, too, rolling his large eyes round 
him as he ate, and chuckling with the 
possibility that he might one day be 
lord of all this scene of almost unimagin- 
able luxury and splendor. Then, he 
thought, how soon he 'd turn his back 



<» 



119 



XLbc XegeiiD ot Sleeps IboUow 

upon the old schoolhouse ; snap his 
fingers in the face of Hans Van Ripper, 
and every other niggardly patron, and 
kick any itinerant pedagogue out of 
doors that should dare to call him 
comrade ! 

Old Baltus Van Tassel moved about 
among his guests with a face dilated 
with content and good-humor, round 
and jolly as the harvest-moon. His 
hospitable attentions were brief, but ex- 
pressive, being confined to a shake of 
the hand, a slap on the shoulder, a loud 
laugh, and a pressing invitation to ''fall 
to, and help themselves." 

And now the sound of the music from 
the common room, or hall, summoned 
to the dance. The musician was an old 
gray-headed negro, who had been the 



//^^ 







ir.^. 



XLbc %CQcn^ ot SleepB IboUow 

itinerant orchestra of the neighborhood 
for more than half a century. His in- 
strument was as old and battered as 
himself. The greater part of the time 
he scraped on two or three strings, ac- 
companying every movement of the 
bow with a motion of the head; bowing 
almost to the ground and stamping with 
his foot whenever a fresh couple were 
to start. 

Ichabod prided himself upon his danc- 
ing as much as upon his vocal powers. 
Not a limb, not a fibre about him was 
idle ; and to have seen his loosely hung 
frame in full motion, and clattering about 
the room, you would have thought Saint 
Vitus himself, that blessed patron of the 
dance, was figuring before you in per- 
son. He was the admiration of all the 



123 



iinini|i/iuii>ii|ii«iU|ii\iihiiii^iiiiiiiii;'iiiii<n>i'.>< |i<iiiiiiiiuiniiiiiui>iiiii'«'U 



I ^iiji.p7>^ns Q^tj^n^ ^ii^4 



j^n 



'tVtL 



How cottld the flogger of ttr chins be other- 
ivise than animated and joyous ? " 



^be XegenO ot Sleeps Ibollow 

negroes ; who, having gathered, of all 
ages and sizes, from the farm and the 
neighborhood, stood forming a pyramid 
of shining black faces at every door and 
windov/, gazing with delight at the 
scene, rolling their white eyeballs, and 
showing grinning rows of ivory from 
ear to ear. How could the flogger of 
urchins be otherwise than animated and 
joyous ? the lady of his heart was his 
partner in the dance, and smiling gra- 
ciously in reply to all his amorous og- 
lings; while Brom Bones, sorely smitten 
with love and jealousy, sat brooding by 
himself in one corner. 

When the dance was at an end, Icha- 
bod was attracted to a knot of the sager 
folks, who, with old Van Tassel, sat 
smoking at one end of the piazza, gos- 



125 




siping over former times, and drawing 
out long stories about the war. 

This neighborhood, at the time of 
which I am speaking, was one of those 
highly favored places which abound with 
chronicle and great men. The British 
and American line had run near it during 
the war; it had, therefore, been the scene 
of marauding, and infested with refu- 
gees, cow-boys, and all kinds of border 
chivalry. Just sufficient time had elapsed 
to enable each story-teller to dress up 
his tale with a little becoming fiction, 
and, in the indistinctness of his recollec- 
tion, to make himself the hero of every 
exploit. 

There was the story of Doffue Mart- 





..^i^. 



y. 



Z\iz Xe^enD of Sleepy IboUow 

with an old iron nine-pounder from a 
mud breastwork, only that his gun burst 
at the sixth discharge. And there was 
an old gentleman who shall be nameless, 
being too rich a mynheer to be lightly 
mentioned, who, in the battle of White 
Plains, being an excellent master of de- 
fence, parried a musket-ball with a small 
sword, insomuch that he absolutely felt 
it whiz round the blade, and glance off 
at the hilt; in proof of which he was 
ready at any time to show the sword, 
with the hilt a little bent. There were 
several more that had been equally great 
in the field, not one of whom but was 
persuaded that he had had a considerable 
hand in bringing the war to a happy 
termination. 

But all these were nothing to the tales 



129 



Zbc Xe^enD of Sleepy Ibollow 

of ghosts and apparitions that succeeded. 
The neighborhood is rich in legendary 
treasures of the kind. Local tales and su- 
perstitions thrive best in these sheltered, 
long-settled retreats ; but are trampled 
underfoot by the shifting throng that 
forms the population of most of our 
country places. Besides, there is no en- 
couragement for ghosts in most of our 
villages, for they have scarcely had time 
to finish their first nap, and turn them- 
selves in their graves before their surviv- 
ing friends have travelled away from the 
neighborhood ; so that when they turn 
out at night to walk their rounds, they 
have no acquaintance left to call upon. 
This is perhaps the reason why we so 
seldom hear of ghosts, except in our 
long-established Dutch communities. 



131 







:r:«* 



XLbc UegenD ot Sleeps Ibollow 



The immediate cause, however, of the 
prevalence of supernatural stories in these 
parts was doubtless owing to the vi- 
cinity of Sleepy Hollow. There was a 
contagion in the very air that blew 
from that haunted region ; it breathed 
forth an atmosphere of dreams and 
fancies infecting all the land. Several of 
the Sleepy Hollow people were pres- 
ent at Van Tassel's, and, as usual, were 
doling out their wild and wonderful 
legends. Many dismal tales were told 
about funeral trains, and mourning cries 
and wailings heard and seen about the 
great tree where the unfortunate Major 
Andre was taken, and which stood in 
the neighborhood. Some mention was 
made also of the woman in white, that 
haunted the dark glen of Raven Rock, 





Zbc XeaenD ot Sleepy Ibollow 

and was often heard to shriek on winter 
nights before a storm, having perished 
there in the snow. The chief part of 
the stories, however, turned upon the 
favorite spectre of Sleepy Hollow, the 
headless horseman, who had been heard 
several times of late, patrolling the coun- 
try; and, it was said, tethered his horse 
nightly among the graves in the church- 
yard. 

The sequestered situation of this 
church seems always to have made it a 
favorite haunt of troubled spirits. It 
stands on a knoll, surrounded by locust- 
trees and lofty elms, from among which 
its decent whitewashed walls shine 
modestly forth, like Christian purity 
beaming through the shades of retire- 
ment. A gentle slope descends from it 



135 



XLbc XegenD ot Sleepi^ Ibollow 

to a silver sheet of water, bordered by 
high trees, between which, peeps may 
be caught at the blue hills of the Hudson. 
To look upon its grass-grown yard, 
where the sunbeams seem to sleep so 
quietly, one would think that there at 
least the dead might rest in peace. On 
one side of the church extends a wide 
woody dell, along which raves a large 
brook among broken rocks and trunks 
of fallen trees. Over a deep black part 
of the stream, not far from the church, 
was formerly thrown a wooden bridge ; 
the road that led to it, and the bridge 
itself, were thickly shaded by overhang- 
ing trees, which cast a gloom about it, 
even in the daytime, but occasioned a 
fearful darkness at night. This was one 
of the favorite haunts of the headless 



137 



Zbe XcQcnD of Sleepis Ibollow 

horseman; and the place where he was 
most frequently encountered. The tale 
was told of old Brouwer, a most hereti- 
cal disbeliever in ghosts, how he met 
the horseman returning from his foray 
into Sleepy Hollow, and was obliged to 
get up behind him; how they galloped 
over bush and brake, over hill and 
swamp, until they reached the bridge; 
when the horseman suddenly turned 
into a skeleton, threw old Brouwer into 
the brook, and sprang away over the 
tree-tops with a clap of thunder. 

This story was immediately matched 
by a thrice marvellous adventure of 
Brom Bones, who made light of the gal- 
loping Hessian as an arrant jockey. He 
aifirmed that, on returning one night 
from the neighboring village of Sing 



139 








^be XcgenD of Sleeps IboUow 

Sing, he had been overtaken by this 
midnight trooper; that he had offered to 
race with him for a bowl of punch, and 
should have won it too, for Daredevil 
beat the goblin horse all hollow, but, 
just as they came to the church-bridge, 
the Hessian bolted, and vanished in a 
flash of fire. 

All these tales, told in that drowsy un- 
dertone with which men talk in the dark, 
the countenances of the listeners only 
now and then receiving a casual gleam 
from the glare of a pipe, sank deep in 
the mind of Ichabod. He repaid them 
in kind with large extracts from his 
invaluable author. Cotton Mather, and 
added many marvellous events that had 
taken place in his native State of Con- 
necticut, and fearful sights which he 



141 






XLbc XcgenD ot Sleepg IboUow 



had seen in his nightly walks about the 
Sleepy Hollow, 

The revel now gradually broke up. 
The old farmers gathered together their 
families in their wagons, and were heard 
for some time rattling along the hollow 
roads, and over the distant hills. Some 
of the damsels mounted on pillions be- 
hind their favorite swains, and their 
light-hearted laughter, mingling with 
the clatter of hoofs, echoed along the 
silent woodlands, sounding fainter and 
fainter until they gradually died away — 
and the late scene of noise and frolic 
was all silent and deserted, Ichabod 
only lingered behind, according to the 
custom of country lovers, to have a 
tete-d-tete with the heiress, fully con- 
vinced that he was now on the 





Zbc XeaenD of Sleeps Ibollow 

road to success. What passed at this 
interview I will not pretend to say, for 
in fact I do not know. Something, 
however, I fear me, must have gone 
wrong, for he certainly sallied forth, 
after no very great interval, with an air 
quite desolate and chop -fallen. Oh, 
these women ! these women ! Could 
that girl have been playing off any of 
her coquettish tricks.^ Was her en- 
couragement of the poor pedagogue all 
a mere sham to secure her conquest of 
his rival ? Heaven only knows, not I ! 
Let it suffice to say, Ichabod stole forth 
with the air of one who had been sack- 
ing a hen-roost, rather than a fair lady's 
heart. Without looking to the right or 
left to notice the scene of rural wealth 
on which he had so often gloated, he 



145 






L \ 







^y 



^be XeaenO of Sleeps Ibollow 

went straight to the stable, and with 
several hearty cuffs and kicks, roused 
his steed most uncourteously from the 
comfortable quarters in which he was 
soundly sleeping, dreaming of moun- 
tains of corn and oats, and whole valleys 
of timothy and clover. 

It was the very witching time of night 
that Ichabod, heavy-hearted and crest- 
fallen, pursued his travel homewards, 
along the sides of the lofty hills which 
rise above Tarry Town, and which he had 
traversed so cheerily in the afternoon. 
The hour was as dismal as himself. 
Far below him, the Tappan Zee spread 
its dusky and indistinct waste of waters, 
with here and there the tall mast of a 
sloop riding quietly at anchor under the 
land. In the dead hush of midnight he 



147 



trbe %cQcr\^ of Sleepy fbollow 



could even hear the barking of the watch- 
dog from the opposite shore of the Hud- 
son ; but it was so vague and faint as 
only to give an idea of his distance from 
this faithful companion of man. Now 
and then, too, the long-drawn crowing 
of a cock, accidentally awakened, would 
sound far, far off, from some farmhouse 
away among the hills — but it was like a 
dreaming sound in his ear. No signs of 
life occurred near him, but occasionally 
the melancholy chirp of a cricket, or 
perhaps the guttural twang of a bull- 
frog, from a neighboring marsh, as if 
sleeping uncomfortably, and turning sud- 
denly in his bed. 

All the stories of ghosts and goblins 

that he had heard in the afternoon now 

came crowding upon his recollection. 

149 





^illDii'il|m|ii.wiiiiTiiiii]iiiiiii„.,iMuin 



wsmm 




iillll'lllliilHlill 




j^^i\^7 





^be Xegent) ot Sleeps Ibollow 

The night grew darker and darker; the 
stars seemed to sink deeper in the sky, 
and driving clouds occasionally hid them 
from his sight. He had never felt so 
lonely and dismal. He was, moreover, 
approaching the very place where many 
of the scenes of the ghost-stories had 
been laid. In the centre of the road 
stood an enormous tulip-tree, which 
towered like a giant above all the other 
trees of the neighborhood, and formed 
a kind of landmark. Its limbs were 
gnarled, and fantastic, large enough to 
form trunks for ordinary trees, twisting 
down almost to the earth, and rising 
again into the air. It was connected 
with the tragical story of the unfortunate 
Andre, who had been taken prisoner 
hard by; and was universally known by 

151 



V 



Zbc XegenD ot Sleeps IboUow 

the name of Major Andre's tree. The 
common people regarded it with a mix- 
ture of respect and superstition, partly 
out of sympathy for the fate of its ill- 
starred namesake, and partly from the 
tales of strange sights and doleful lamen- 
tations told concerning it. 

As Ichabod approached this fearful 
tree, he began to whistle: he thought 
his whistle was answered, — it was but a 
blast sweeping sharply through the dry 
branches. As he approached a little 
nearer, he thought he saw something 
white, hanging in the midst of the tree, 
— he paused and ceased whistling; but 
on looking more narrowly perceived 
that it was a place where the tree had 
been scathed by lightning, and the white 
wood laid bare. Suddenly he heard a 



153 



Zbe Xe^enD ot Sleepg IboUow 



groan, — his teeth chattered and his knees 
smote against the saddle; it was but 
the rubbing of one huge bough upon 
another, as they were swayed about by 
the breeze. He passed the tree in safety ; 
but new perils lay before him. 

About two hundred yards from the 
tree a small brook crossed the road, and 
ran into a marshy and thickly wooded 
glen, known by the name of Wiley's 
swamp. A few rough logs, laid side by 
side, served for a bridge over this stream. 
On that side of the road where the brook 
entered the wood, a group of oaks and 
chestnuts, matted thick with wild grape- 
vines, threw a cavernous gloom over it. 
To pass this bridge was the severest 
trial. It was at this identical spot that 
the unfortunate Andre was captured, and 




Ebe %CQcn^ of Sleeps fbollow 

under the covert of those chestnuts and 
vines were the sturdy yeomen concealed 
who surprised him. This has ever since 
been considered a haunted stream, and 
fearful are the feelings of the schoolboy 
who has to pass it alone after dark. 

As he approached the stream, his 
heart began to thump; he summoned up, 
however, all his resolution, gave his 
horse half a score of kicks in the ribs, 
and attempted to dash briskly across the 
bridge; but instead of starting forward, 
the perverse old animal made a lateral 
movement, and ran broadside against 
the fence, Ichabod, whose fears in- 
creased with the delay, jerked the reins 
on the other side, and kicked lustily with 
the contrary foot: it was all in vain; his 
steed started, it is true, but it was only 



157 




to plunge to the opposite side of the 
road into a thicket of brambles and alder 
bushes. The schoolmaster now bestowed 
both whip and heel upon the starveling 
ribs of old Gunpowder, who dashed for- 
ward, snuffling and snorting, but came 
to a stand just by the bridge, with a 
suddenness that had nearly sent his rider 
sprawling over his head. Just at this 
moment a plashy tramp by the side of 
the bridge caught the sensitive ear of 
Ichabod. In the dark shadow of the 
grove, on the margin of the brook, he 
beheld something huge, misshapen, 
black, and towering. It stirred not, but 
seemed gathered up in the gloom, like 
some gigantic monster ready to spring 
upon the traveller. 

The hair of the affrighted pedagogue 



159 



c^joy Q< 



l#*-«'« 



^be Xegen^ of Sleepy Ibollow 



rose upon his head with terror. What 
was to be done ? To turn and fly was 
now too late; and besides, what chance 
was there of escaping ghost or goblin, 
if such it was, which could ride upon 
the wings of the wind ? Summoning 
up, therefore, a show of courage, he 
demanded in stammering accents — 
" Who are you ? " He received no reply. 
He repeated his demand in a still more 
agitated voice. Still there was no an- 
swer. Once more he cudgelled the 
sides of the inflexible Gunpowder, and 
shutting his eyes broke forth with in- 
voluntary fervor into a psalm-tune. Just 
then the shadowy object of alarm put 
itself in motion, and, with a scrarrble 
and a bound, stood at once in the mid- 
dle of the road. Though the night was 

i6i 




Zbc XcgenD ot Sleepy Ibollow 



dark and dismal, yet the form of the 
unknown might now in some degree 
be ascertained. He appeared to be a 
horseman of large dimensions, and 
mounted on a black horse of powerful 
frame. He made no offer of molesta- 
tion or sociability, but kept aloof on one 
side of the road, jogging along on the 
blind side of old Gunpowder, who had 
got over his fright and waywardness. 

Ichabod, who had no relish for this 
strange midnight companion, and be- 
thought himself of the adventures of 
Brom Bones with the Galloping Hessian, 
now quickened his steed, in hopes of 
leaving him behind. The stranger, how- 
ever, quickened his horse to an equal 
pace. Ichabod pulled up, and fell into 
a walk, thinking to lag behind, — the 

163 



Zbc %cQc\\t> of Sleepi? Ibollow 



other did the same. His heart began 
to sink within him; he endeavored to 
resume his psalm-tune, but his parched 
tongue clove to the roof of his mouth, 
and he could not utter a stave. There 
was something in the moody and dogged 
silence of this pertinacious compan- 
ion, that was mysterious and appall- 
ing. It was soon fearfully accounted 
for. On mounting a rising ground, 
which brought the figure of his fellow- 
traveller in relief against the sky, gigan- 
tic in height, and muffled in a cloak, 
Ichabod was horror-struck, on perceiv- 
ing that he was headless! — but his hor- 
ror was still more increased, on observing 
that the head, which should have rested 
on his shoulders, was carried before him 
on the pommel of the saddle; his terror 

165 




Away then they dashed, through thick 
and thin ; stones flying, and sparks 
flashing at every bound'' 



Zbc XegeiiD of Sleepg IboUow 



rose to desperation; he rained a shower 
of kicks and blows upon Gunpowder, 
hoping, by a sudden movement, to give 
his companion the slip, — but the spectre 
started full jump with him. Away then 
they dashed, through thick and thin; 
stones flying, and sparks flashing at 
every bound. Ichabod's flimsy garments 
fluttered in the air, as he stretched his 
long lank body away over his horse's 
head, in the eagerness of his flight. 

They had now reached the road which 
turns off to Sleepy Hollow; but Gun- 
powder, who seemed possessed with a 
demon, instead of keeping up it, made 
an opposite turn, and plunged headlong 
downhill to the left. This road leads 
through a sandy hollow, shaded by 
trees for about a quarter of a mile, where 

167 



Zbc Xe^enD of Sleepy IboUow 



•; \ 



it crosses the bridge famous in goblin 
story, and just beyond swells the green 
knoll on which stands the whitewashed 
church. 

As yet the panic of the steed had given 
his unskilful rider an apparent advantage 
in the chase; but just as he had got half- 
way through the hollow, the girths of 
the saddle gave way, and he felt it slip- 
ping from under him. He seized it by 
the pommel, and endeavored to hold it 
firm, but in vain; and had just time to 
save himself by clasping old Gunpowder 
round the neck, when the saddle fell to 
the earth, and he heard it trampled un- 
derfoot by his pursuer. For a moment 
the terror of Hans Van Ripper's wrath 
passed across his mind — for it was his 
Sunday saddle; but this was no time for 
169 



a^v 



J~M 



Cbc Xeaent) ot Sleepi? IboUow 



petty fears; the goblin was hard on his 
haunches; and (unskilful rider that he 
was!) he had much ado to maintain his 
seat; sometimes slipping on one side, 
sometimes on another, and sometimes 
jolted on the high ridge of his horse's 
backbone, with a violence that he verily 
feared would cleave him asunder. 

An opening in the trees now cheered 
him with the hopes that the church- 
bridge was at hand. The wavering re- 
flection of a silver star in the bosom of 
the brook told him that he was not mis- 
taken. He saw the walls of the church 
dimly glaring under the trees beyond. 
He recollected the place where Brom 
Bones's ghostly competitor had disap- 
peared. " If I can but reach that bridge, " 
thought Ichabod, 'M am safe." Just 

171 




Zbc XegenD of Sleeps Ibollow 



then he heard the black steed panting 
and blowing close behind him; he even 
fancied that he felt his hot breath. An- 
other convulsive kick in the ribs, and 
Gunpowder sprang upon the bridge; he 
thundered over the resounding planks; 
he gained the opposite side; and now 
Ichabod cast a look behind to see if his 
pursuer should vanish, according to rule, 
in a flash of fire and brimstone. Just 
then he saw the goblin rising in his 
stirrups, and in the very act of hurling 
his head at him. Ichahod endeavored 
to dodge the horrible missile, but too 
late. It encountered his cranium with a 
tremendous crash, — he was tumbled 
headlong into the dust, and Gunpowder, 
the black steed, and the goblin rider, 
passed by like a whirlwind. 

173 



ir^ 






C^be XcaenD of Sleeps Ibollow 



The next morning the old horse was 
found without his saddle, and with the 
bridle under his feet, soberly cropping 
the grass at his master's gate. Ichabod 
did not make his appearance at break- 
fast; dinner-hour came, but no Ichabod. 
The boys assembled at the schoolhouse, 
and strolled idly about the banks of the 
brook; but no schoolmaster. Hans Van 
Ripper now began to feel some uneasi- 
ness about the fate of poor Ichabod and 
his saddle. An inquiry was set on foot, 
and after diligent investigation they came 
upon his traces. In one part of the road 
leading to the church was found the sad- 
dle trampled in the dirt; the tracks of 
horses' hoofs deeply dented in the road, 
and evidently at furious speed, were 
traced to the bridge, beyond which, on 




XLbc %CQcn^ of Sleeps Ibollow 

the bank of a broad part of the brook, 
where the water ran deep and black, 
was found the hat of the unfortunate 
Ichabod, and close beside it a shattered 
pumpkin. 

The brook was searched, but the body 
of the schoolmaster was not to be dis- 
covered. Hans Van Ripper, as executor 
of his estate, examined the bundle which 
contained all his worldly effects. They 
consisted of two shirts and a half; two 
stocks for the neck; a pair or two of 
worsted stockings, an old pair of cordu- 
roy small-clothes; a rusty razor; a book 
of psalm-tunes, full of dogs'-ears, and a 
broken pitchpipe. As to the books 
and furniture of the schoolhouse, they 
belonged to the community, except 
ing Cotton Mather's History of IViich- 



ni 



Zbc Xegeno ot Slecpi? ibollow 



^ra//, a New England Almanac, and 
a book of dreams and fortune-telling; 
in which last was a sheet of foolscap 
much scribbled and blotted in several 
fruitless attempts to make a copy of 
verses in honor of the heiress of Van 
Tassel. These magic books and the 
poetic scrawl were forthwith consigned 
to the flames by Hans Van Ripper, who 
from that time forward determined to 
send his children no more to school, ob- 
serving that he never knew any good 
come of this same reading and writing. 
Whatever money the schoolmaster pos- 
sessed, and he had received his quarter's 
pay but a day or two before, he must 
have had about his person at the time 
of his disappearance. 

The mysterious event caused much 

179 



XLbe %cgcn^ of Sleeps Ibollow 

speculation at the church on the follow- 
ing Sunday. Knots of gazers and gos- 
sips were collected in the churchyard, 
at the bridge, and at the spot where the 
hat and pumpkin had been found. The 
stories of Brouwer, of Bones, and a whole 
budget of others, were called to mind; 
and when they had diligently considered 
them all, and compared them with the 
symptoms of the present case, they 
shook their heads, and came to the con- 
clusion that Ichabod had been carried 
off by the Galloping Hessian. As he 
was a bachelor, and in nobody's debt, 
nobody troubled his head any more 
about him. The school was removed 
to a different quarter of the Hollow, and 
another pedagogue reigned in his stead. 
It is true, an old farmer, who had been 







Zbc %CQa\^ of Sleeps IboUow 

down to New York on a visit several 
years after, and from whom this account 
of the ghostly adventure was received, 
brought home the intelligence that Icha- 
bod Crane was still alive; that he had 
left the neighborhood, partly through 
fear of the goblin and Hans Van Ripper, 
and partly in mortification at having 
been suddenly dismissed by the heiress; 
that he had changed his quarters to a 
distant part of the country; had kept 
school and studied law at the same time, 
had been admitted to the bar, turned 
politician, electioneered, written for the 
newspapers, and finally had been made 
a justice of the Ten Pound Court. Brom 
Bones, too, who, shortly after his rival's 
disappearance, conducted the blooming 
Katrina in triumph to the altar, was ob- 

183 




y 







Zbc HcQcwtf of Sleeps IboUovv 

served to look exceedingly knowing 
whenever the story of Ichabod was re- 
lated, and always burst into a hearty 
laugh at the mention of the pumpkin; 
which led some to suspect that he knew 
more about the matter than he chose to 
tell. 

The old country wives, however, who 
are the best judges of these matters, 
maintain to this day that Ichabod was 
spirited away by supernatural means ; 
and it is a favorite story often told about 
the neighborhood round the winter even- 
ing fire. The bridge became more than 
ever an object of superstitious awe, and 
that may be the reason why the road 
has been altered of late years, so as to 
approach the church by the border of 
the millpond. The schoolhouse being 

185 



%}^. 



a:be %cgc\\t) of Slcepg Ibollow 

deserted, soon fell to decay, and was re- 
ported to be haunted by the ghost of 
the unfortunate pedagogue ; and the 
ploughboy, loitering homeward of a still 
summer evening, has often fancied his 
voice at a distance, chanting a melan- 
choly psalm-tune among the tranquil 
solitudes of Sleepy Hollow. 



187 



ir^UMMll||llnil|l'llii|HI|IIV||jJi)l||l||l/illll>ill|l'llllMiMi llii||iilillMIIUllllll|IUII(lli'< 



,/ '. 





POSTSCRIPT 

FOUND IN THE HANDWRITING OF MR. KNICKERBOCKER 

The preceding Tale is given, almost in the precise 
words in which 1 heard it related at a Corporation 
meeting of the ancient city of Manhattoes, at which 
were present many of its sagest and most illustrious 
burghers. The narrator was a pleasant, shabby, 
gentlemanly old fellow, in pepper-and-salt clothes, 
with a sadly humorous face ; and one whom 1 
strongly suspected of being poor, — he made such 
efforts to be entertaining. When his story was con- 
cluded, there was much laughter and approbation, 
particularly from two or three deputy alderman, who 
had been asleep the greater part of the time. There 
was, however, one tall, dry-looking old gentleman 
with beetling eyebrows, who maintained a grave 
and rather severe face throughout ; now and then 
folding his arms, inclining his head, and looking 
down upon the floor, as if turning a doubt over in 
his mind. He was one of your wary men, who 
never laugh but on good grounds — when they have 
reason and the law on their side. When the mirth 
of the rest of the company had subsided and silence 
was restored, he leaned one arm on the elbow of his 
chair, and sticking the other akimbo, demanded, with 
a slight but exceedingly sage motion of the head, 



189 




b 



H D - 1 07 



^be %cQcnt> of Sleepi^ Ibollow 



and contraction of the brow, what was the moral of 
the story, and what it went to prove ? 

The story-teller, who was just putting a glass of 
wine to his lips, as a refreshment after his toils, 
paused for a moment, looked at his inquirer with an 
air of infinite deference, and, lowering the glass 
slowly to the table, observed, that the story was 
intended most logically to prove : 

" That there is no situation in life but has its ad- 
vantages and pleasures — provided we will but take 
a joke as we find it : 

"That, therefore, he that runs races with goblin 
troopers is likely to have a rough riding of it. 

' ' Ergo, for a country schoolmaster to be refused 
the hand of a Dutch heiress, is a certain step to high 
preferment in the state." 

The cautious old gentleman knit his brows tenfold 
closer after this explanation, being sorely puzzled by 
the ratiocination of the syllogism ; while, methought, 
the one in pepper-and-salt eyed him with something 
of a triumphant leer. At length he observed, that 
all this was very well, but. still he thought the story 
a little on the extravagant — there were one or two 
points on which he had his doubts. ** Faith, sir, "re- 
plied the story-teller, "as to that matter, 1 don't 
believe one half of it myself." D. K. 



191 








••W/JC*- ^h^ 










^^0^ 











DOBIS IROI. 



PR »0V rf *o 

iT^JYTTn-. * O 



. AUGUSTINE 



